Chachoengsao: A country trip outside Bangkok

Heading out on another photo adventure with my friend Jeff Harper, we traveled east from Bangkok to the neighboring province of Chachoengsao. We had no itinerary but wanted to eventually explore the old Chinese area of the city of Chachoengsao and if time, see the large colony of fruit bats at a temple east of the city. As often happens, we made many stops before even reaching the city and found villages and temples little explored by foreigners that are interspersed among the vast rice fields. Sometimes by wrong turns, often by seeing an interesting landmark, we found hidden jewels of Thai life all throughout the day.

All photos are copyrighted © by John Stiles unless otherwise noted. Images may not be reproduced or used without permission.

We reached the old Chinese market near the city of Chachoengsao to find it closed, but that was not a big problem, as it gave us opportunity to explore the market shop fronts elevated above a canal and homes along it. This is a typical scene of life on a "klong", which is repeated thousands of times throughout Thailand and neighboring countries.
A slice of authentic Thai life.

A shop front  with traditional fish made from palm leaves and colorfully painted. It is a sign of good luck, and is particularly popular along waterways. The sign in the lower right says "big fish" but I am not sure to what it refers; perhaps something on market days. The word in center written in chalk apparently is cryptic, as Thai friends say it is meaningless.

Shadow designs of a railing on a wooden bridge over the canal.

A man paddles his boat past the homes at a canal intersection at the edge of the market.

Altar at a small Chinese Buddhist temple near the market.

This colorful house entrance sits a meter or so above the surface of the canal. The faded paint is the high water mark of flooding that affected much of Thailand a few years ago.

Hand painted wooden dolls sit in a second hand shop that was open.
It is run by a retired teacher and her husband who is a leather smith.

Jeff poses with the couple and holds a leather eyeglass case that was personalized for him by the leather smith. I bought a set of metal chopsticks from his wife at her shop.

Typical scene along the peaceful canal.

This friendly resident cooks and serves pork and noodle dishes along the canal. He is out on the water "Six to eight hours every day."

Here he stops to make a noodle dish for a resident. He also picked up bottled water and ice at this stop.

A man paddles by a large display of orchids, which are common in many Thai homes, parks and in this case, outdoor gardens.

Farms along canals in Thailand include such "livestock" as frogs, as seen here, as well as shrimp and fish. Hydroponic gardens are also common.

A local fisherman lays out his net across the "klong". When asked if he had any luck, he replied, "Not so good today."

Most people use the sun to dry clothes, regardless of social status. Virtually everyone in villages hang clothes wherever convenient.

This man is stripping reeds ("gok") that will later be used in weaving mats and baskets.

Another temple under a beautiful sky beckoned us as we drove toward the city.

Many temples erect huge statues of the Buddha on their premises, often commissioned by wealthy benefactors or as a result of fundraising among the local residents. This framework of welded rebar will be put upright and moved to a platform where it will be covered in cement and then painted.

Jeff photographing the head, giving a sense of scale to this immense figure.

Our next stop was to another Thai Buddhist temple in the countryside leading to the city. We noticed a large Buddha but could not find a way to it. So, we stopped to wander around this temple's grounds. Every temple is similar in basic layout, but no two are exactly alike, and we know that something interesting will turn up. This is the design set in a window frame of a pavilion.

A cemetery on the grounds had both Thai and Chinese burial vaults. This family crypt apparently was opened and the remains removed, perhaps to another location.

Chinese bury their deceased: Thais cremate them. This is a typical Chinese style grave: the rounded shape set into a hill is very common, which makes Chinese burial grounds easy to identify.

A stone mason carefully marks a piece of a design that will be trimmed with an electric circular mason saw. He will later put all of the pieces together and mount them on a wall.

Across from the temple cemetery is a primary school. These students stopped their play during recess to gawk at the foreigners with cameras and pressed against the gate mesh for the best look. We had a great time interacting with them.

Three young children peek through the stone wall to see the big "farang" (foreigners), undoubtedly a rarity in their world.

While at the previous temple, we could see the shiny golden head of a Chinese style Buddha but couldn't find a passageway to get to it. Keeping it in sight, we drove around until we came to the main road into Chachoengsao and found the giant seated Buddha, plump and smiling as are most in the Chinese style. This is the new Chinese cultural center, which is still adding buildings. For a fee, a guide took us around to the various altars and instructed how to pay respect. In the photo above, the Buddha is flanked by two important Chinese buddhist deities: Ji Gong (left), a monk who fought against injustice and was also unpredictable and wild: he is always portrayed with a wine flask in hand; and Guanyin (right), the female goddess of compassion.

Guanyin, "Goddess of Mercy"

The bold colorful paintings, typical in Chinese temples, drew my attention near this door. Jeff captured my recording of a beautiful wall painting...

...which was on the slanted ceiling above a mural with dragon motif. I thought the lines were elegantly painted, resulting in a depiction of women playing instruments while in a graceful dance.

Close up detail of a necklace on a Buddha statue adorned with gold leaf placed by worshippers.

Ringing a large bell at temples traditionally were to summon monks to prayer, or for devotees to show respect to Buddhas and to gain merit. It is now done for positive karma in many temples. This bell has a heavy plank suspended in order to make it easy for people to swing, but I think it can also be to strike the bell in the same place every time, thus limiting the wear in many places over time. Photo by Jeff Harper

Ceiling of the Chinese cultural center main hall

We eventually made our way to the old city on the river, where houses a century old sit on pilings above the water. Homes like the sagging house in this photo are not uncommon: families sometimes abandon their homes, no one buys them and they just collapse into disrepair and rot away, finally dropping into the water as this one will in the not too distant future. In some cases, they are inhabited until the very last minute.

Making our way into the old market, I came across this intriguing space along a walkway. It appears that the person is living out in the open surrounded by personal possessions.

In the middle of the (mostly) inactive market--it was not the weekend--I came across this man slicing husks off of coconuts. The husks are piled to be used for other things such as a medium for growing plants, and the hard inner coconut is placed in another pile, to be sold later. This pile represents three days of hard work.

Many windows and doors are likely original from the construction of the homes and businesses in this area a century ago. Wonderful textures and colors.

Time for a nap. In Thailand, one sleeps wherever a horizontal space is available, indoors or out.

Old traditional folding wooden doors.

After our walk through the market, we found a fabulous rustic restaurant on the river that is run by a large family. The smile is for the ice cold brew that is coming.
Photo by Jeff Harper.

A scene from our vantage point at the restaurant.

Plank siding, corrugated roofs and a family "spirit house" that pays homage to ancestors.

A wider view of the homes across the river from the restaurant.

On our way back to the car, we passed people engaged in a variety of activities, all in less than 100 meters. Table games are very popular in Thailand and are played anywhere and everywhere. Here two men concentrate during a chess game.

This elderly man was teaching his grandsons how to straighten bamboo before it is used to make ladders. The bamboo is heated, but not charred, and then bent straight by placing it into a small space between blocks and then applying pressure. Many physics lessons applied here.

Ice is chipped and packed for delivery to restaurants, bars and drink carts. Blocks, which melt much more slowly, are sold to fruit vendors who can keep it all day in 90F/33C heat.

After leaving the old city, we traveled to the stunning
Wat Sothon Warawihan, the world's largest Buddhist temple. Caught in the late afternoon sunlight, it positively glows.

On the grounds of Wat Sothon are many beautiful pavilions.

Our last stop, which I unfortunately miscalculated the daylight, was to a temple that has thousands of fruit bats resting in trees. These amazing mammals are quite large and look impressive as they fly across the sky. Here they assemble and appear like plump fruit. Unfortunately, I was unable to get clear photos due to the low light and the bats' movements.

To view Jeff's outstanding photos of the trip visit his photo blog: http://drjeffbangkok.squarespace.com/journal/category/chachoengsao-thailand